Cover image via Najjua Zulkefl/TMIOn Friday, 19 February, a day after Malaysia inked a bilateral memorandum with Bangladesh for taking in 1.5 million Bangladeshi workers, Deputy Prime Minister Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi suspended the recruitment of all foreign workers, including those from Bangladesh, pending a review of the levy and rehiring programme
While urging all employers to hire local workers, Zahid added that the suspension would remain in place until the Government determined the actual manpower requirements of the industries
Image via The Borneo Post
He, however, did not talk about a memorandum of understanding signed between Malaysia and Bangladesh in Dhaka on Thursday
Responding to the news, Saiful Haque, chairman of the WARBE Development Foundation, a Bangladeshi NGO that works in migration and gives a voice to migrant workers, told BenarNews:
Furthermore, speaking to the Dhaka Tribune…
…Bangladesh Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry Acting Secretary Begum Shamsun Nahar has **described the freeze as an "eyewash" by Putrajaya**, adding that Bangladesh had not received any official statement from Malaysia.
"The Malaysian government has made the announcement to calm local pressure groups who are opposed to recruiting foreign workers," she was quoted as saying by the Bangladeshi newspaper.
Image via FMT
However, while Zahid Hamidi has chided former government leaders who accused Putrajaya of "policy flip-flop", the Deputy Prime Minister hasn't said anything more on the freeze or on the accusations made by the Bangladeshi Expatriate Ministry
While it is true that Putrajaya has been facing resistance and criticism from several civil and trade groups over its plan to bring in the foreign workers, it is highly unlikely that the Deputy Prime Minister's announcement freezing the intake is just an "eyewash".
On the other hand, the Malaysian Trade Unions Congress (MTUC) has said that locals should be given priority for jobs. But Malaysians do not want the "3D" jobs. Read more on this, here:
